Part of the rat problem is their incredible fecundity. Rats begin breeding as soon as five weeks of age and continue until about age two. Females are fertile approximately every three weeks, and during this time they have been known to mate up to 500 times in six hours. The resulting pregnancy usually lasts about three weeks, and the litter size typically ranges from 6 to 20 babies. Rats are famous for being able to chew through things, soft concrete, wood, plastic, aluminum, and cinder blocks are no match for these rodents. Their love of chewing is due, in part, to the fact that their teeth never stop growing. In order to keep them from becoming too long, making eating impossible, rats must constantly gnaw to wear down their teeth.
Despite their tiny bodies, mice eat between 15 and 20 times a day. A house mouse produces between 40 and 100 droppings per day. Mice are good jumpers, climbers and swimmers. Mice can live in a lab for up to two years, but usually only live for about 5 months in the wild, mostly because of predators, such as cats, snakes and foxes. Mice typically enter our homes between October and February, looking for food, water and shelter from the cold. While these rodents may look cute, mice spread more germs than most people realize. Mice can actually carry as many as 200 human pathogens!
If you spot a mouse in the house, it is easy to assume that there are more or there will be soon. Female mice can give birth when they are two months old and are able to have babies 6 to 10 times per year.
